1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to underwater video and more specifically to systems and methods of communicating underwater video, images or other data from a media capture device to a device above the surface of the water.
2. Introduction
Action cameras have become an integral part of photography and videography in the past decade. In particular, the invention of the GoPro® camera has changed the industry standard for what an action camera should be capable of.
The GoPro® camera became popular because it is compact, lightweight, rugged, wearable, mountable, waterproof and controllable by the user. These features allow the user to capture and display images from the user's point of view or desired vantage point. One of the most recent developments in action cameras has been the addition of Wi-Fi radios, which give the camera the ability to connect wirelessly to other Wi-Fi-enabled devices (e.g., smart phones, tablets, computers, etc.). The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) has designated the wireless technology involved with the use of this 2.4 GHz and 5.8 GHz Ultra High Frequency (UHF) band as the standard known as 802.11. With the addition of Wi-Fi capability to action cameras, the user now has the ability to stream and control the camera remotely. While the camera may be mounted or located in another area or point that is out of reach, the user can still view the images from and control the camera from another Wi-Fi-enabled device with a display. The control feature has become the method by which many users will capture that once-in-a-lifetime video or snap that breathtaking picture, all without the user having to be right where the camera is or being physically tied to the camera with hardware. This breakthrough led to questions about how far users could take this wireless functionality of an action camera. In many aquatic hobbies (e.g., fishing, scuba diving, etc.), the community began to ask if this wireless connection could be used to bring streaming video data to the surface. In simpler terms, the question is whether the user above water can see what the camera sees below water in real time and wirelessly. In short, the answer with present technology has been no. The UHF Wi-Fi signal transmits very poorly through water, reducing what is normally a few hundred feet of range in an air environment to a mere few inches through water.